Your vehicle stalls on a railroad track and won't restart. After everyone gets out and calls 911, which direction should they move away from the tracks?
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A.
Whichever direction is downhill from the crossing
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B.
Straight away from the tracks, at a right angle
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C.
In the same direction the train is traveling, so it passes behind you
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D.
At a 45-degree angle toward the approaching train Correct
The answer is "At a 45-degree angle toward the approaching train"
Move away from the tracks at a 45-degree angle in the direction the train is coming from. Debris flies forward when the train strikes, so you want to be behind the impact point. Choice C matches the natural urge to run the same way the train is traveling, which puts you directly in the debris path.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Whichever direction is downhill from the crossing
Downhill has nothing to do with where the train's debris lands. This answer borrows a generic move-to-lower-ground emergency rule that the railroad section never uses.
B. Straight away from the tracks, at a right angle
A right-angle exit puts you in the arc of debris that flies off the impact point. This answer picks the shortest route off the tracks without accounting for where the wreckage lands.
C. In the same direction the train is traveling, so it passes behind you
Walking the way the train is heading puts you in the path debris flies when the train strikes. This answer runs away from the train on pure instinct, into the exact zone the 45-degree rule is designed to avoid.
This question tests your knowledge of Emergencies in Illinois. Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, "Railroad Crossing," p.33..
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